I Want To Go Back To The Little Grass Shack

I did it... 50 States... Travel goal met!

We are back from Hawaii... packed so much into our 8 day tour of my final state... and it took almost a week to fully recover. My schedule was brimming with activities, full of a diverse array of activities and some new adventures.  I don’t know how we pulled it all off, but I got to see just about everything I thought I could squeeze into this trip.  The weather tried to rain on my parade, but we pushed through it... because even wet in the rain was warmer than back home.

All said and done, I visited all the national park sites on Oahu and the isle of Hawaii, visited a few state parks, got misted at a couple waterfalls, walked on beaches of green and black sands, stared at a glowing volcano crater, marveled at petroglyphs, laughed at a comedy/magic show, witnessed humpbacks in a heat run, took amazing pictures of sea turtles in tide pools, learned some Hawaiian history, took in city sites, walked through the zoo and aquarium, honored our country’s veterans,  soaked up views of blowholes, vistas and natural wonders, and swam with manta rays.

I stayed at Sheratons on both islands and could not be happier. All of our stays gave us glorious views of the water.  My SPG status paid off, big time, with incredible upgrades to beautiful suites that gave us room to stretch out and feel spoiled.   It’s rare when a hotel garters so much attention on a trip, but this time the accommodations simply addded to the feel of the whole experience.  I wrote thank you notes because the stays were simply that good!

The trip was simply epic. I wasn’t ready to let go of the views but I know i need to plan another visit to see Maui and Kauai.  At least I left knowing I left nothing on the table.

I will be breaking the trip down by island.  There is too much to write in one post.  And I want to savor the memories.

The Quest is Coming to An End

This is it!  My HUGE travel goal of visiting all the states is up this weekend.  I did it!  As of Sunday, I will be able to say I have visited all 50 states. 


I leave Sunday for my first trip to Hawaii.  We are visiting Oahu and the Big Island.  I will be working on my national parks list while there, with trips to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, War of the Pacific Valor National Monument, and the National Historical Parks/Sites on the Big Island.  I have a few state parks on my list, as well as some amazing adventures, like swimming with Manta Rays.


Obviously, my journey across this amazing country is not over.  Because while I have visited every state, I have not seen everything that each state has to offer.  I still have plenty of national park units to explore, small cities, art towns and everything in between to explore.  I honestly don't think I will ever truly be done seeing all the amazing things there are to see in the US... we are the 3rd biggest country in the world, that is a lot to cover.  And that is why this journey has been so amazing.  Forests to deserts, cities to mountain towns, sweeping vistas to incredible geologic formations, amazing wildlife to welcoming locals, this has been a epic adventure.  And I am capping it off with the 50th state. 


So, I will catch up on the flip side. 


And when I get back, we can talk about my next travel bucket lists - the territories, the neighbors, the natural gems.